Synchronized Skating Summer Update--Helen Thomas
8/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Synchronized Skating
Helen Thomas - August 11, 2009
I chose to brave out most of my summer in my hometown in the Sonoran Desert (Scottsdale, Arizona). So far the highest temperature has reached 115 degrees, but as they say, it's a dry heat. I was fortunate to have a nice week of beach and rest in Florida after school ended, but by Memorial Day I was back home trying to reach the goals I had set for myself this summer.
Graduate school has been front and center in my mind, so I signed up to take the GRE at the end of July. Therefore, studying for the GRE, preparing for my Senior Honors Thesis, and researching graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology took up many hours of my summer. I am currently enjoying a well-earned week at The Greenbrier in West Virginia.
Earlier this summer I volunteered in the English Immersion Studies Program in the Scottsdale Unified School District. I observed parenting classes, which connected well to many of the developmental psychology and family studies courses I've taken at Miami. I created a video of interviews for the grant writers to use in order to get more funds for classes in the fall.
I also helped out in the English Immersion Studies Office creating postcards for teachers, which contain information such as test scores and other data about incoming ESL students. This really was meaningful because many of these students get further and further behind in their studies the longer they fail to learn English. It's easy for teachers to see these students as numbers, but this way the teacher has a complete profile of a student as a human being and knows the student's individual needs. The goal is literacy for all.
I also volunteered my time judging two skating competitions this summer. I judged the Desert Breeze competition and Cactus Classic, my former club's annual competition. It was huge this year since the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships will be at my home rink this October; therefore, many skaters in the region came to compete at Cactus.
I judged the IJS system and also helped as a video replay operator, which was extremely beneficial as I got to hear the discussion of the technical specialists and controllers (the judges in charge of calling elements) for the IJS system. This is the same system used to call synchro elements, so it was interesting to hear how the judges come to give us our scores.
Besides this, I was able to spend some quality time with my family. I saw "Wicked" with my mom, cooked a lot with my dad, and joined a yoga gym with my brother. I also got to coach and babysit some amazing kids and practice with some old skating friends.
Some exciting news that just came near the end of my summer is that a children's book I wrote as an assignment for a developmental psychology class is being published! I came in contact with the developer of Moo-O, a software program for children, and he thought my story would be a great addition. Moo-O is a participatory electronic storybook where kids read the stories on the web site with a microphone and camera and the program puts their faces and narration into the animated story. It is a very fun program and I'm so excited for the opportunity for kids from all over the world to enjoy my story.
Now, I just have a little while left before I get to be reunited with my friends and teammates for another fabulous school year!
This is a continuation in a series of updates from the Miami University synchronized skaters throughout the summer.
Players Mentioned
